Show the man in the photo 1 t by R RAY BAKER t 10 h 4 4 copyright 1913 1919 by tho the mcclure nowal new paper pape syndicate hope sheldon Slie lilon was not a I 1 heathen set act slit worshiped an idol alic thc idol was the photos photographic rachle Ilk likeness eries of a until mini site she lad had the picture but so far its as slie she knew she never had seen the original lie he might inight be dead for ill all of her knowledge yet to her lie ho einhold lid led li d all that a roan loan ought to be tills till idol or nr ideal worshiped in serret secret ted nope hope from saying the one vir that would have made henry Wads walk on air save orley money pay an installment on furniture art and hunt built a flat I 1 lope hope was fond of 0 henry she would live uttered that longed for word if it had not been for the photograph she admitted this to herself but to him she sa sald I 1 d 1 I cant do it please dont ask me again I 1 have a secret that hat prevents my accepting sou iou that was mas rill all the satisfaction he could obtain aery time lie he proposed which was once a week regularly lie got the alie dinine story in different m words but the same meaning only once did lie he fiall ill to get in his weekly proposal rind ami that was because 1 a I railroad wreck delayed his special delivery letter while lie was out of the city on business but henry was persistence itself nothing daunted him not even the reference to tile the secret at first lie he conceived wild thoughts concerning it and lost many funny hours of sleep on account ot of it but it failed to vanquish him instead lie he came back stronger with a I 1 determination to override her mysterious objections whatever they might be hope was a senti sentimentalist sentimentally st when slie she was mas a little girl she got decided notions about princes and resolved to marry one when she grew it up in ili her mature years she still had bad ambitious ambitions to wed a prince not the lie kind they had in ili europe before the war oil no 1 they were te not for hope she wanted an Ai american an husband huband but lie must be a prince of a fellow and the picture showed her I 1 ideal deal to be the one that filled tile the bill she would wait for this prince to put in an appearance come what may she decided and if lie was dead the she would never marry the picture came into her ter possession in a I 1 somewhat peculiar ar manner when hope arrived in the city to she was obliged to rent a room that was it a long iong ways from being desirable but which was in a respectable spec table house bouse in an equally respectable neighborhood in the top dresser drawer was the photograph slie she pounced upon it with deep satisfaction for slie she recognized the f face AC e looking up at her as belonging to the prince of dt her dreams the man in the lie picture was middle aged but that did riot not deter hope ile he had a acay mustache but that was mas no barrier it was the kindly eyes and the benevolent forehead that caught lier ter fancy just ahot kind hind of forehead is of the benevolent variety I 1 cannot tell ell you but hope could she had bad read up on such things lings ti eiery night that photograph went ent under her pillow after she had worshiped it with fill her eyes and perhaps talked to it a little yes yei she was a foolish little girl was hope foolish along those lines but otherwise very sensible she alio did not consider that a roan loan of middle age with kindly eyes arid and a benevolent forehead might be married already ile he simply be according to her mind because lie he was made just fur for her As time passed and tile the ideal idea I 1 per bilsted ilsted in refusing to present blin himself self tu ili flesh and blood her determination did not wane instead it became stronger then a I 1 better job permitted her to move inove into a more comfortable room in a less poverty stricken part of the city and that is where the HIP trouble began that is where ulgere she be began ark to fight with herself to avoid faithlessness to her ideal for nero across the hall from her in the new place lived henry wadsworth who nho held some kind of a job at a theater ile he nt at once tell fell in love with nith hope and launched himself on a program of persistent wooing slie site occasionally accepted an invitation vi to a dance or dinner but in the maln main she declined his social octal attentions which only proper course in line with till her refusal of his matrimonial offers but hope wavered several times in private of course the urge was very cry throng mid arid she had to fight to keep from 31 yielding elding to henrys persuasions ile he never knew this though all the battle took place in tile the privacy of her ter toom room where she would stand the picture against the wash ah bowl rind and stare fare int at it 15 minutes at a time asserting time and time again that bite ahe was true we are all deranged more or less les on some subject so 70 t alie to experts say and that ideal notion botlo was hopes bopes determination will win whit alinosi aliu ost anything and tit at last henry broke down the big barrier or rather he broke down the barriers guarding the secret which was the big barrier it was just after his nineteenth proposal ile he kept truck track of them on a calendar so lie knew just which one it was while he be was uttering the saine words that lie he had given iven voice to the week previous and the week that etc hope sat deep in thought and heard him through ens for usually she brolan into his pretty speech and did aid not allow him to reach the end of it this time when lie he was through she said henry im going to tell you vou the big biff secret its another man I 1 henry nearly fell oft off the chair ire he had often thought this might be ati the e solution but the conf confirmation of the suspicion was nas startling just the same ile he was almost sorry he be had learned j tit alic secret now flow for in a way lie would be taking a rather sneaking advantage ill t L of 0 tin mi absent rival if lie conijn continued TI his I 1 suit stilt it was till all right when lie did not know there was rino another aber man but 4 now nov it was Ul Terent while lie he sat murn muni in a state bordering desperation hope wont ment to file I 1 ho dreser and brought forth the picture sill handed it to him and alle ba ho gazed gayed at tile lie face in III it with it a sort of 0 vindictive gleam in ili its his eyes she told him hie file story of the photograph slowly a mile spread over aver henrys face as lie listened to the tale of how tile tho ideal eat crime came to be and lie bent to low over the likeness of his rival in order to tilde the manifestations of merriment that were taking possession of ill his countenance the next evening while niile hope was busy reading a book some one knocked tit at her door henry again she decided rind and went ent to the door which she flung open the man mail who nho stood there was ili an exact replica of 0 the photograph it avas the idol she could not doubt that yes there were the kindly eyes eye s and benevolent forehead rind and the heavy mustache in ili a laze daze she held the door open rind and watched tile the apparition tion enter without speaking arid and set himself comfort ably abl in 1 a I chair wily why do you treat me ine so coldly asked the flesh and blood idol you been walling waiting for rne me to come she closed the door and stood looking down at him unable as yet to grasp its as a reality the fact that she was baving upon the living orl original arlid of tile lie picture that lay in the dresser dram drawer er perhaps she was dreaming she thought and even looked for a pin with which to prick herself as a te tet test t suddenly the strange visitor broke out into laughter shaking all over and rocking back and forth with his head held in his hands what what are you doing hope managed n itin aged to inquire in a rather thin sounding soun diug voice im laug laughing hingl he roared and then behold ore off came caine the heavy mustache out came caine the mans handkerchief and with it lie he obliterated various benevolent wrinkles from his forehead the kindly eyes remained because they anere w we henry wads Nv rind and his always were that way hope sank weakly into 1 a I chair she was unable to understand whether he was playing a rather crude hoax on her or whether the photograph in her possession actually was one of henry the lie makeup make up which he bad just removed ile he evidently divined her thoughts tor for lie he said dont be angry hope I 1 cant help it your idol find I 1 are one and the same iliad it taken when nhen I 1 was playing the title role of moses and I 1 left the photograph in my room when I 1 quit living at mrs OI Ol esons place you evidently were the next occupant of the room and you found the picture how about it are you still bent on marrying the picture man or will you have me either way its henry wadsworth that flint will mill be ba the hie lucky man been because tise im both hope looked meek and submissive and yet there was a lot ot of happiness shining in her eyes as she replied ill take you both then ive often wished during the last few in months that I 1 could do that |